Red clover is valued in agriculture because it fixes nitrogen in the soil without the use of toxic fertilizers. It also prevents erosion, provides food for livestock and is hearty enough to survive in colder climates.1 But this versatile plant has other applications as well.

Natural healers have long attributed a myriad of health benefits to a potent tea that can be extracted from red clover flowers.2 In recent years, this tea has grown in popularity because of its ability to balance hormones and ease menopause symptoms.3

What Is Red Clover Tea?

Red clover, which is a legume in the bean family, was brought to North America by European immigrants in the 1500s. It is a versatile biennial or short-lived perennial. Red clover can adapt to a wide variety of soils and climates.4 It is often used as a cover crop with corn because of its ability to thrive in shady environments.5

Red clover grows from crowns and has hollow, hairy stems and branches. The stems can reach 30 inches, and there are four to six branches per stem. Red clover is topped by a pink flower, which is composed of hundreds of smaller legume flowers.6

Red clover tea, which is made from the flowering top, has been of particular interest to researchers and natural healers.7 Despite being derived from a plant so common that it may be growing in your backyard, red clover tea has a vibrant and complex flavor.

Unlike traditional teas, red clover tea is extracted from the flower rather than the leaves. It is sold in ready-to-use tea bags from online retailers, but an herbal tea infuser allows you to steep the unprocessed blossoms. Red clover tea has a delicate, sweet flavor profile.8

5 Benefits of Red Clover Tea

Red clover has long been used in traditional medicine as a treatment for cancer, whooping cough, various skin conditions and as a detoxifying diuretic.9 Here are some ways that red clover tea can benefit your health:

• Promotes female reproductive health — Red clover is specifically rich in isoflavones, which are similar to the female hormone estrogen. Many women use red clover tea to address hot flashes, breast pain or tenderness and premenstrual syndrome (PMS).10

However, isoflavones, which are phytoestrogens, have been linked to fertility issues in men and breast cancer in women.11 Due to these concerns, I recommend that men avoid phytoestrogens, especially in the form of unfermented soy. It should be noted, though, that the phytoestrogens in red clover are not operating in isolation. Red clover has a complex micronutrient profile and the isoflavones are only one component.

• May reduce risk of breast cancer — In 2013, a systemic review published in…

Research shows your body’s microbiome has nearly 39 trillion bacteria.1 During early years, your family, dietary intake and environmental exposure contribute to the variety in your microbiome, influencing your lifelong health. Everyday activities such as brushing your teeth, eating, kissing someone or handling a family pet also affect your microbiome.

This composition may be as distinct to you as a fingerprint and plays an enormous role in disease prevention, and influences the function of your skin, lungs, breast and liver.2 Harmful bacteria can trigger illness and disease, which is frequently treated with antibiotics. Of the 10 most commonly prescribed, three are from the antibiotic class of fluoroquinolones.3

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first added a boxed warning to fluoroquinolones in 2008, due to the increased risk for tendinitis and tendon rupture.4 Boxed warnings, also referred to as black box warnings, appear on prescription drug labels designed to call attention to serious or life-threatening risks.5

An additional warning was added in 2011 for those suffering from myasthenia gravis, and updates were included in 2013 describing irreversible peripheral neuropathy.6 Most recently, the FDA warned fluoroquinolone antibiotics may increase the occurrence of ruptures or tears in the aorta.7

Latest FDA Warning Links Fluoroquinolones With Aortic Damage

The aorta is the main artery in your body supplying oxygenated blood to your circulatory system. The artery comes from the left side of your heart and runs down the front of your backbone. The review by the FDA found fluoroquinolone antibiotics increase the risk of tears in the aorta, also called aortic dissections, or ruptures of an aortic aneurysm, leading to excessive bleeding and death.

The findings occurred when antibiotics were given by mouth or through an injection. This led the FDA to caution against the use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in those at risk, unless there are no other treatment options available.

Specifically, the antibiotic should not be used in those who are at risk for, or have a current, aortic aneurysm, such as those suffering peripheral atherosclerotic vascular disease, hypertension and specific genetic conditions such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or Marfan syndrome.8

Findings were pulled from four published observational studies, which taken together demonstrated a consistent association between aortic dissection or rupture and fluoroquinolone use. The underlying mechanism could not be determined from those studies.

Some of the commonly used fluoroquinolones include ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), gemifloxacin (Factive) and moxifloxacin (Avelox). These are widely prescribed to treat upper respiratory and urinary tract infections. In a statement, the FDA warns:9

“Fluoroquinolones should not be used in patients at increased risk unless there are no other treatment options available.

The Thighmaster, Nintendo Wii workouts, Tae Bo — every year comes with its own fitness trends. As 2018 draws to an end, what’s going to be hot in 2019? The American College of Sports Medicine has a few ideas.

As the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world, ACSM releases an annual list of what’s shaping up to be the hottest topics in the fitness world. Check out the the top fitness trends for next year — are you ready?

The Top Fitness Trends of 2019

1. Wearable Technology

Topping the list is wearable technology like fitness trackers, pedometers and heart rate monitors. The market for these products is booming and shows no signs of slowing down; in fact, sales hit more than $4 billion in 2017.

But if you’re buying wearable technology to lose weight, you might want to hold off. A recent study found that overweight participants in a randomized clinical trial who wore a wearable device actually lost less weight than another group who followed the same food and fitness plan without a fitness tracker. (1) This might be because people overeat after seeing exactly how much they exercised or moved that day or the exact opposite — someone who didn’t break a sweat one day might have gotten discouraged.

But that doesn’t mean technology isn’t useful for reaching your health goals. While I wouldn’t recommend wearing wireless devices beyond a short workout due to the exposure to electromagnetic radiation, using your smartphone to track your workouts or how much your eating can help you gauge patterns. (And quickly pivot from unhealthy ones.) If you’re a data geek, you can mine through days, weeks or even months of info to notice patterns in your habits.

One caveat: long-term use of wireless networks may have adverse effects on your health and increase the risk of things like oxidative stress, headaches and a decrease in cognition, while exposure to lights and technology right before bedtime can disrupt sleep patterns and decrease quality sleep. (2) Use your judgment on how much you rely on the devices and remove them — or at least put them into airplane mode— when it’s time to rest.

2. Group Training

Do you usually workout solo? 2019 could be the year to try group training.

Group training makes trying a new exercise, like spinning or boot camp, more fun. Having an experienced instructor can help keep you motivated and push you to go that extra bit. And bringing along a friend or making new ones in class has an effect, too. A little friendly competition can increase motivation to work harder, like in this exercise bike study. (3)

Participants either exercised alone, exercised with a partner or exercised with a partner and were told that test results were based on who was weakest. While the solo riders were on the bike for 10.6 minutes, the ones with a partner stayed on for 19.8 minutes. And the ones who were told their performance relied on their partner? They stayed on for double the…